John Robert is the son of John Mathews and Mary Lipscomb Wash. He married Bessie Foster Hersey of Boston on 7 June 1894 and they had one child, Mary Hersey Mathews, who married Alfred Warren Nash. He attended Washington University and graduated as the valedictorian of the first graduating class of the St. Louis Dental College in 1869. He practiced dentistry in St. Louis from 1869-71, was a cattle owner in Texas in 1871 and a farmer in Montgomrey, Missouri in 1872. John was the owner of Park Livery Stable in St. Louis holding 120 horses from 1873-79. From 1879-82 he was engaged in mining and reality in Leadville, Colorado. His sister Cordelia Frances (Fannie) married John F. Humphreys, one of the early Mayors of Leadville. John later went to California where he was in the produce business as a partner in Mathews Bros. in Los Angeles from 1883-1906. He was a co-founder of the L.A. Board of Trade in 1883,elected to the Ca. State Assembly in 1890, to the senate in 1892 and was the Postmaster of L.A. from 1896-1900. He was a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in 1888 of which he serverved two terms as President. In 1902, John co-founded the L.A. Produce Exchange. He was the Pres. of State Bank and Trust from 1902-04 and stayed on as V.P. when it was taken over by Central National Bank which later merged with Security Trust and Bank where he was the manager of the New Business Dept. from 1913-29. John was also Brig. Gen. of the 1st Brigade of the California National Guard, Commander of Company A of Los Angeles and Company B of San Diego from 1885-90. John was a 32 deg. Mason, politically was a Democrat and religiously was a Methodist.

John Robert is the son of John Mathews and Mary Lipscomb Wash. He married Bessie Foster Hersey of Boston on 7 June 1894 and they had one child, Mary Hersey Mathews, who married Alfred Warren Nash. He attended Washington University and graduated as the valedictorian of the first graduating class of the St. Louis Dental College in 1869. He practiced dentistry in St. Louis from 1869-71, was a cattle owner in Texas in 1871 and a farmer in Montgomrey, Missouri in 1872. John was the owner of Park Livery Stable in St. Louis holding 120 horses from 1873-79. From 1879-82 he was engaged in mining and reality in Leadville, Colorado. His sister Cordelia Frances (Fannie) married John F. Humphreys, one of the early Mayors of Leadville. John later went to California where he was in the produce business as a partner in Mathews Bros. in Los Angeles from 1883-1906. He was a co-founder of the L.A. Board of Trade in 1883,elected to the Ca. State Assembly in 1890, to the senate in 1892 and was the Postmaster of L.A. from 1896-1900. He was a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in 1888 of which he serverved two terms as President. In 1902, John co-founded the L.A. Produce Exchange. He was the Pres. of State Bank and Trust from 1902-04 and stayed on as V.P. when it was taken over by Central National Bank which later merged with Security Trust and Bank where he was the manager of the New Business Dept. from 1913-29. John was also Brig. Gen. of the 1st Brigade of the California National Guard, Commander of Company A of Los Angeles and Company B of San Diego from 1885-90. John was a 32 deg. Mason, politically was a Democrat and religiously was a Methodist.